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Robert Rauschenberg
Born	October 22, 1925 Port Arthur, Texas, US
Died	May 12, 2008 (aged 82) Lee County, Florida, US
Nationality	American
Field	Assemblage
Movement	Neo-Dada

Robert Rauschenberg (born Milton Ernst Rauschenberg; October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art.^[1][2] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 581 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (872 × 900 pixel, file size: 93 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Robert Rauschenberg - Canyon, 1959, oil, housepaint, pencil, paper, fabric, metal, buttons, nails, cardboard, printed paper, photographs, wood, paint tubes, mirror string, pillow & bald eagle on canvas... is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont-Port Arthur metropolitan area and is situated in southeast Texas. ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ... United States may refer to: Places: United States of America SS United States, the fastest ocean liner ever built. ... is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. ... This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ... United States may refer to: Places: United States of America SS United States, the fastest ocean liner ever built. ... Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956–present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic  - President George W. Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized... An assemblage is an archaeological term meaning a group of different artefacts found in association with one another, that is, in the same context. ... Neo-Dada is a label applied primarily to the visual arts describing artwork that has similarities in method or intent to earlier Dada artwork. ... is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... Jackson Pollock, No. ... Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing? (1956) is one of the earliest works to be considered pop art. ...

Rauschenberg is perhaps most famous for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations. While the Combines are both painting and sculpture, Rauschenberg has also worked with photography, printmaking, papermaking, and performance. Rauschenberg had a tendency to pick up the trash that interested him on the streets of New York City and bringing it back to his studio to use it in this works. He claimed he "wanted something other than what I could make myself and I wanted to use the surprise and the collectiveness and the generosity of finding surprises. And if it wasn't a surprise at first, by the time I got through with it, it was. So the object itself was changed by its context and therefore it became a new thing."^[3] For other uses , see Painting (disambiguation). ... Sculptor redirects here. ... Photography [fәtɑgrәfi:],[foʊtɑgrәfi:] is the process of recording pictures by means of capturing light on a light-sensitive medium, such as a film or electronic sensor. ... Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. ... The Diamond Sutra of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, the oldest dated printed book in the world, found at Dunhuang, from 868 AD. Papermaking is the process of making paper, a material which is ubiquitous today for writing and packaging. ...

In 1953, Rauschenberg stunned the art world by erasing a drawing by de Kooning. ^[4] In 1964 Rauschenberg was the first American artist to win the Grand Prize at the Venice Biennale (Mark Tobey and James Whistler had previously won the Painting Prize). Since then he has enjoyed a rare degree of institutional support. Rauschenberg lived and worked in New York City and on Captiva Island, Florida until his death on May 12, 2008, from heart failure.^[5] Willem de Koonings Woman V (1952-53), National Gallery of Australia Willem de Kooning (April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997) was an abstract expressionist painter, born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. ... Detail of exhibition. ... Mark George Tobey (December 11, 1890 – April 24, 1976) was an American Abstract Expressionism Painter, born in Centerville, Wisconsin. ... Self portrait (1872) James Abbott McNeill Whistler (July 11, 1834 – July 17, 1903) was an American-born, British-based painter and etcher. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... A flock of skimmers in flight above the western beach of Upper Captiva Island. ... This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ... is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ...

Biography

Early life

Robert Rauschenberg, Untitled "combine, 1963.

Rauschenberg was born as Milton Ernst Rauschenberg (he changed his first name as an adult) in Port Arthur, Texas, the son of Dora and Ernest Rauschenberg.^[6] His father was of German and Cherokee ancestry and his mother of Anglo-Saxon descent.^[7][8] His parents were Fundamentalist Christians.^[7] Rauschenberg studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and the Académie Julian in Paris, France, before enrolling in 1948 at the legendary Black Mountain College in North Carolina.^[9][10] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont-Port Arthur metropolitan area and is situated in southeast Texas. ... This page contains special characters. ... The Anglo-Saxons refers collectively to the groups of Germanic tribes who achieved dominance in southern Britain from the mid-5th century, forming the basis for the modern English nation. ... Fundamentalist Christianity is a fundamentalist movement, especially within American Protestantism. ... Mineral Hall at Kansas City Art Institute The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a private, independent, four-year college of fine arts and design founded in 1885 that has taught Walt Disney and other artists in Kansas City, Missouri. ... The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France. ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Official language(s) English Demonym North Carolinian Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Largest metro area Charlotte metro area Area  Ranked 28th in the US  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (340 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (900 km)  - % water 9. ...

At Black Mountain his painting instructor was the renowned Bauhaus figure Josef Albers, whose strict discipline and sense of method inspired Rauschenberg, as he once said, to do "exactly the reverse" of what Albers taught him.^[5] From 1949 to 1952 Rauschenberg studied at the Art Students League of New York, where he met Knox Martin and Cy Twombly. Rauschenberg and Susan Weil were married in the summer of 1950. For information about British rock band, see Bauhaus (band). ... Josef Albers (born March 19, 1888 in Bottrop, Westphalia (Germany) - died March 26, 1976 in New Haven, Connecticut), was a German artist and educator whose work, both in Europe and in the United States, formed the basis of some of the most influential and far-reaching art education programs of... The Art Students League of New York is an art school founded in 1875. ... Knox Martin, is an American painter, sculptor and muralist. ... Leda and The Swan 1962. ...

Composer John Cage, whose music of chance occurrences and found sounds perfectly suited Rauschenberg's personality, was also a member of the Black Mountain faculty. The "white paintings" produced by Rauschenberg at Black Mountain in 1951, while they contain no images at all, are said to be so exceptionally blank and reflective that their surfaces respond and change in sympathy with the ambient conditions in which they are shown,^[11] "so you could almost tell how many people are in the room," as Rauschenberg once commented. The White Paintings are said to have directly influenced Cage in the composition of his completely "silent" piece titled 4'33" the following year. For the Mortal Kombat character, see Johnny Cage. ... 433 is a musical work by avant-garde composer John Cage, often described (somewhat erroneously) as four and a half minutes of silence. ...

Career

In 1952 Rauschenberg began his series of "Black Paintings" and "Red Paintings," in which large, expressionistically brushed areas of color were combined with collage and found objects attached to the canvas. These so-called "Combine Paintings" ultimately came to include such heretofore un-painterly objects as a stuffed goat and the artist's own bed quilt, breaking down traditional boundaries between painting and sculpture, reportedly prompting one Abstract Expressionist painter to remark, "If this is Modern Art, then I quit!" Rauschenberg's Combines provided inspiration for a generation of artists seeking alternatives to traditional artistic media. The Scream by Edvard Munch (1893) which inspired 20th century Expressionists Portrait of Eduard Kosmack by Egon Schiele Rehe im Walde by Franz Marc Elbe Bridge I by Rolf Nesch On White II by Wassily Kandinsky, 1923. ... For other uses, see Collage (disambiguation). ... A found object, in an artistic sense, indicates the use of an object which has not been designed for an artistic purpose, but which exists for another purpose already. ...

Rauschenberg's approach was sometimes called "Neo-Dada," a label he shared with the painter, close friend, and sometime lover Jasper Johns.^[12]Rauschenberg's oft-repeated quote that he wanted to work "in the gap between art and life" suggested a questioning of the distinction between art objects and everyday objects, reminiscent of the issues raised by the notorious "Fountain" of Dada pioneer Marcel Duchamp. At the same time, Johns' paintings of numerals, flags, and the like, were reprising Duchamp's message of the role of the observer in creating art's meaning. Neo-Dada is a label applied primarily to the visual arts describing artwork that has similarities in method or intent to earlier Dada artwork. ... Jasper Johnss Map, 1961 Jasper Johnss Flag, Encaustic, oil and collage on fabric mounted on plywood,1954-55 Detail of Flag (1954-55). ... DaDa is a concept album by Alice Cooper, released in 1983. ... Marcel Duchamp (pronounced ) (July 28, 1887 – October 2, 1968) was a French artist (he became an American citizen in 1955) whose work and ideas had considerable influence on the development of post-World War II Western art, and whose advice to modern art collectors helped shape the tastes of the...

Alternatively, in 1961, Rauschenberg took a step in what could be considered the opposite direction by championing the role of creator in creating art's meaning. Rauschenberg was invited to participate in an exhibition at the Galerie Iris Clert, where artists were to create and display a portrait of the owner, Iris Clert. Rauschenberg's submission consisted of a telegram sent to the gallery declaring "This is a portrait of Iris Clert if I say so." Exterior of Galerie Iris Clert during le Plein exhibition Galerie Iris Clert (French for Iris Clert Gallery) was an art gallery named after its owner and curator, Iris Clert. ... Iris Clert was the owner of the Galerie Iris Clert from 1955 to 1971. ...

Robert Rauschenberg, Riding Bikes, Berlin, Germany, 1998.

By 1962, Rauschenberg's paintings were beginning to incorporate not only found objects but found images as well - photographs transferred to the canvas by means of the silkscreen process. Previously used only in commercial applications, silkscreen allowed Rauschenberg to address the multiple reproducibility of images, and the consequent flattening of experience that that implies. In this respect, his work is contemporaneous with that of Andy Warhol, and both Rauschenberg and Johns are frequently cited as important forerunners of American Pop Art. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (649x697, 144 KB) Vgl. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (649x697, 144 KB) Vgl. ... For other uses, see Berlin (disambiguation). ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Screen-printing, also known as silkscreening or serigraphy, is a printmaking technique that creates a sharp-edged single-color image using a stencil and a porous fabric. ... Andrew Warhola (August 6, 1928 — February 22, 1987), better known as Andy Warhol, was an American artist who was a central figure in the movement known as Pop art. ... Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing? (1956) is one of the earliest works to be considered pop art. ...

In 1966, Billy Klüver and Rauschenberg officially launched Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.) a non-profit organization established to promote collaborations between artists and engineers. Billy Klüver (1927-2004) Johan Wilhelm (Billy) Klüver was born in Monaco, November 13, 1927, and grew up in Sweden. ... The scientist Billy Klüver (1927-2004) and the contemporary painter/sculptor Robert Rauschenberg (1925-) founded the EAT group (Experiments in Art and Technology), which fostered and supported ongoing collaboration between artists and scientists. ...

In 1984, Rauschenberg announced his Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange, or ROCI, at the United Nations. This would culminate in a seven year, ten country tour to encourage "world peace and understanding," through Mexico, Chile, Venezuela, Beijing, Lhasa (Tibet), Japan, Cuba, Soviet Union, Berlin, and Malaysia in which he left a piece of art, and was influenced by the cultures he visited. Paintings, often on reflective surfaces, as well as drawings, photographs, assemblages and other multimedia were produced, inspired by these surroundings, and this was considered some of his strongest works. The ROCI venture, supported by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., went on view in 1991.

In addition to painting and sculpture, Rauschenberg's long career has also included significant contributions to printmaking and Performance Art. He also won a Grammy Award for his album design of Talking Heads' album Speaking in Tongues. As of 2003 he worked from his home and studio in Captiva, Florida. Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. ... This article is about Performance art. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Talking Heads was an American rock band formed in 1974 in New York City and active until 1991. ... Speaking in Tongues is a 1983 album by the band Talking Heads. ... Captiva is an unincorporated town located on Captiva Island in Lee County, Florida. ... This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ...

Personal life

Rauschenberg married the painter Susan Weil in 1950. The two met while attending the Academie Julian in Paris, and in 1948 both decided to attend Black Mountain College in North Carolina to study under Josef Albers. Their only child, Christopher, was born July 16, 1951. They divorced in 1953.[1] According to a 1987 oral history by the composer Morton Feldman, after the end of his marriage, Rauschenberg had romantic relationships with fellow artists Cy Twombly and Jasper Johns.[2] An article by scholar Jonathan D. Katz states that Rauschenberg's affair with Twombly began during his marriage to Susan Weil.[3] Susan Weil (born in 1930 in New York) is an artist best known for her experimental three-dimentional paintings, which combine figurative illustration with explorations of movement and space. ... Josef Albers (born March 19, 1888 in Bottrop, Westphalia (Germany) - died March 26, 1976 in New Haven, Connecticut), was a German artist and educator whose work, both in Europe and in the United States, formed the basis of some of the most influential and far-reaching art education programs of... is the 197th day of the year (198th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer, born in New York City. ... Leda and The Swan 1962. ... Jasper Johnss Map, 1961 Jasper Johnss Flag, Encaustic, oil and collage on fabric mounted on plywood,1954-55 Detail of Flag (1954-55). ... Jonathan David Katz (Ph. ...

He died on May 12, 2008 of Heart Failure, on Captiva Island in Florida.^[13] At the time of his death, Rauschenberg was the companion of male artist Darryl Pottorf, his former assistant.^[14] Rauschenberg is also survived by his son Christopher Rauschenberg. is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... A flock of skimmers in flight above the western beach of Upper Captiva Island. ...

Quotes

Robert Rauschenberg, Portrait of Iris Clert

• "It is impossible to have progress without conscience."
• "I think a painting is more like the real world if it's made out of the real world."
• "The artist's job is to be a witness to his time in history."
• "You begin with the possibilities of the material."
• "An empty canvas is full only if you want it to be full."
• "I work in the gap between art and life."
• "You have to have the time to feel sorry for yourself in order to be a good abstract expressionist."
• "I feel as though the world is a friendly boy walking along in the sun."
• "People ask me, "Don't you ever run out of ideas?" In the first place I don't use ideas. Every time I have an idea it's too limiting, and usually turns out to be a disappointment. But I haven't run out of curiosity."

Image File history File links Iris_Clert_Portrait_Rauschenberg. ... Image File history File links Iris_Clert_Portrait_Rauschenberg. ...

See also

• Arte Povera
• Assemblage (art)
• Happening
• Experiments in Art and Technology
• Art Students League of New York

The term Arte Povera (Italian for poor art) was introduced by the Italian art critic and curator, Germano Celant, in 1967. ... Assemblage is an art term used to describe many different art forms, and movements. ... A happening is a performance, event or situation meant to be considered as art. ... The scientist Billy Klüver (1927-2004) and the contemporary painter/sculptor Robert Rauschenberg (1925-) founded the EAT group (Experiments in Art and Technology), which fostered and supported ongoing collaboration between artists and scientists. ... The Art Students League of New York is an art school founded in 1875. ...

Further reading

• Busch, Julia M., A Decade of Sculpture: the New Media in the 1960s (The Art Alliance Press: Philadelphia; Associated University Presses: London, 1974) ISBN 0-87982-007-1, ISBN 978-0879820077.
• Marika Herskovic, New York School Abstract Expressionists Artists Choice by Artists, (New York School Press, 2000.) ISBN 0-9677994-0-63
• Sweeney, Louise M. "Rauschenberg's Worldwide Quest for Art and Ideas," The Christian Science Monitor, May 20, 1991

This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) is an international newspaper published daily, Monday through Friday. ...

References

The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) is an international newspaper published daily, Monday through Friday. ... Retrospective (from Latin retrospectare, look back) generally means to take a look back at events that already have taken place. ... The front of the Guggenheim Museum from 5th Avenue This article refers to the Guggenheim Museum in the upper east side of Manhattan (New York). ... Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing? (1956) is one of the earliest works to be considered pop art. ... Jasper Johnss Map, 1961 Jasper Johnss Flag, Encaustic, oil and collage on fabric mounted on plywood,1954-55 Detail of Flag (1954-55). ... For the Mortal Kombat character, see Johnny Cage. ... Jackson Pollock, No. ... ARTnews is an artist magazine, founded in 1902 and claiming a circulation of more than 200,000. ... Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont-Port Arthur metropolitan area and is situated in southeast Texas. ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ... Jasper Johnss Map, 1961 Jasper Johnss Flag, Encaustic, oil and collage on fabric mounted on plywood,1954-55 Detail of Flag (1954-55). ... Jackson Pollock, No. ... An assemblage is an archaeological term meaning a group of different artefacts found in association with one another, that is, in the same context. ... Conceptualism is a doctrine in philosophy intermediate between nominalism and realism, that universals exist only within the mind and have no external or substantial reality. ... Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing? (1956) is one of the earliest works to be considered pop art. ... Conceptualism is a doctrine in philosophy intermediate between nominalism and realism, that universals exist only within the mind and have no external or substantial reality. ... For other uses, see Minimalism (disambiguation). ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ... Publishers Weekly is a weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. ... An enfant terrible, from the French meaning terrible child, is one whose startlingly unconventional behavior, work, or thought embarrasses or disturbs others. ... For Christian theological modernism, see Liberal Christianity and Modernism (Roman Catholicism). ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969. ... Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont-Port Arthur metropolitan area and is situated in southeast Texas. ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ... This article is in need of attention. ... Merce Cunningham (born April 16, 1919 in Centralia, Washington, United States) is an American dancer and choreographer. ... is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Stoke Newington Church Street is a road linking Green Lanes (A105) in the west to Stoke Newington High Street ancient Ermine Street (A10) in the east. ... For the Mortal Kombat character, see Johnny Cage. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... is the 133rd day of the year (134th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Robert Rauschenberg biography on the New York Guggenheim Museum website.
• Current exhibitions on Artfacts.net
• Screening of Robert Rauschenberg's 1966 Film "Open Score" at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.
• "OUR PICASSO?", Village Voice
• 1997 Vanity Fair Profile